Posted by Stefan Antwarg on January 18, 2003 at 16:13:13:
In Reply to: Military Band Question posted by Matt A on January 18, 2003 at 15:11:44:
I am by no means an authority on this. But, I am under the impression that anything other than the major military bands are not desirable for someone who is dedicated to making a living playing. I am thinking that the bands are of average college level and the pay is not that great. The fleet band that performs near me is not impressive at all. You go into that because you want to be in the military first, and a musician second.
I auditioned for a fleet band of the Marines down in Virginia back when I was in college. Somehow, I let a recruiter talk me into this. He said I would be in "The Marine Band". I guess I was pretty naive back then because I went for it. I was a solid player, but in no way was I professional level. I was immediately accepted and was told about the program. Basically, it was a military music school with a band. I told them I needed to think about it. Then the recruiter took me to a Change of Command ceremony where the President's Own Marine Band was performing. This was all done to try to convince me to sign up. Fortunately, I realized what was going on and I declined. It would have been a huge mistake.
As I said, I am not an authority on this so please don't flame me too bad. :) I am sure our fearless moderator can shed more light on this.
Stefan Antwarg